The Girl with Two Souls
by FeralSpirit88
Summary: Two years after the defeat of Ashura a new threat begins to surface as the shadows of the city come to life spilling the blood of anyone who crosses its path. Ember is sent to stop the threat while Death the Kid is sent to investigate. When the two meet face to face an unlikely bond is formed as an ancient evil resurfaces hungry for the blood and distruction of what is held dear.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was a late summer's night in Death City nothing too unusual was going on; you had your meisters fighting pre-kishins while normal people lived their lives under the protection of the DWMA. But this night was no ordinary night for deep in the darkest corners, where not even nightmares would dare to step foot in, monsters lay in wait starving for the souls that live in the city.

After years upon years of striking at the wall that held them in this desolated land, from the countless number of souls that roamed the streets, finally fell. Tonight, after years of starvation, they would feast...and feast they did.

Silently they watched their prey from the shadows with hunger in their cold, lifeless eyes…waiting…watching…hunting…then at the strike of twelve they hit without warning. Killing anyone who crossed their path, and when the sun rose to greet the city only tears come to fall…for the streets had been painted in blood.


	2. Chapter 1: A New Assignment

Chapter 1

A New Assignment

It was warm summer evening, and a light breeze swept through a small town carrying with it the scents of newly blooming flowers and fresh green leaves. The warm breeze blew through Ember's soft red hair causing her to giggle as it tickled her nose while the sun's rays made her golden-brown fur glow like the morning sun. Her light blue gaze looked up from the book she was reading to watch the last of the sun's golden rays sink below the horizon leaving the sky a deep purplish-red. She smiled as she closed her book getting ready to head inside.

It had been a good year so far, her training was nearly complete and on top of that she managed to eliminate the nomeds from the Earth. Ember couldn't feel any happier as it seemed peace had finally come after years of battling the shadow dwellers.

"Hey Ember." the deep voice of her Father broke into her thoughts as she entered the house, "Dinner is almost ready Pumpkin."

"After all these years you still call me Pumpkin." Ember said with a little laugh.

"Old habits die hard I guess." the large brown and white felivine stated before letting out a small chuckle, "Besides you will always be my little Pumpkin."

Ember smiled shaking her head at her Father's corniness, but in a way she understood him. She was all that he had left after the death of her Mother, and he was determined to keep her safe even if it meant the cost of his own life. Dimitri was very much against the training she had to take, and even tried to hide her from the Reapers that where meant to bring her to Tak. But as time went by and Ember's soul began to die with each passing day he knew then that he had no choice but to let them take her. Ember knows that her Father still disapproves of her training and fighting the shadow dwellers, but she could also see the pride he had for her and how far she had come over these past few years.

"There! Dinner is done!" Dimitri stated as he grabbed himself a bowl.

"What's for dinner tonight Dad?" Ember asked setting her book down on the coffee table.

"Chicken Noodle soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches." he replied.

"Sounds appetizing." she joked.

Dimitri laughed and handed her a bowl, "Oh stop your whining it's all we have at the moment."

"Pfft I'm not whining." she says laughing taking the bowl from him.

She grabbed the ladle and filled her bowl to the brim with soup then snatched a sandwich, but just as she turned around to head for the table she smacked into a tall suited figure causing her soup to spill all over her. She jumped back in surprise and anger; glaring at the man that stood before her. She knew this person all too well for he had been one of her many mentors. He wore his usual black suit with a light blue tie, his hair was a raven black that stuck out in several different directions, and his eyes where an icy blue that seemed to pierce through your soul like thorns. His name was Castiel or Cas for short, and he was one of the eight original Reapers.

Ember glared at him with a fiery gaze before screaming at him, "God damn it Castiel! Why the fuck can't you use the door like a normal person!"

"I'm sorry, I'll go back and use the door then." he said in a smooth tone.

"No, no, no you don't…" but before she could finish her sentence he was gone, and a sudden knock was heard at the door.

Ember slapped her hand to her forehead muttering idjit under her breath before heading to the door and opening it reviling Cas.

"Does this suit you better?" he asked.

"Get your ass in here reaper." she growled pulling him inside and slamming the door behind them.

"What the hell do you want Cas?"

"Tak wishes to speak with you."

Ember furrowed her brow in curiosity, "Why?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but he said it was urgent and wanted to see you immediately." Castiel answered.

Ember heaved a sigh before answering, "Alright, just let me get changed first."

"Okay," Cas replied, "I'll be here waiting for you."

Ember nodded before heading to her room to get some fresh clothes on. Once she got herself cleaned up she headed to the kitchen to clean up the mess she had made, but her father had already taken care of it.

"You didn't have to do that Dad." she said.

"It's alright Ember, besides it sounds like you're needed elsewhere anyway." Dimitri replied giving her a loving smile.

"I'll be back soon." she answered returning the smile.

He nodded in response as she turned away from the kitchen and headed over to Castiel who was still waiting for her.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"More than ever." she replied in a sarcastic tone.

Then in a sudden flash of light they were standing in front of a very large and twisted tree that sat atop a hill overlooking a forest filled with dead or dying trees. Ember looked around her in surprise, she had almost forgotten how hideously ugly this place was compared to home…or even the rest of the Spirit Realm which was divinely beautiful.

"Are you coming?" Cas's voice spoke breaking through her thoughts.

"Yeah," she replied with a grin, "I was just admiring this ugly ass forest with its butt nasty tree."

Ember laughed at the annoyed look on Cas's face as he led her to the entrance of the twisted tree where Tak lived. Upon entering the tree an empty silence fell between them as her light blue gaze scanned the walls of the tree. Nothing changed since the last time she had been here, which wasn't much of a surprise since time practically stood still in this waste land, but something was off. Ember wasn't quite sure what it was, but it felt like the air was filled with sorrow. This caused her to wonder why Tak wished to see her in the first place…did the nomeds somehow break through again? No they couldn't have she had defeated the last of them, and the Reapers made sure the wall was secure. But something deep inside her told her that the shadow dwellers were back, and were much more violent than before. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of having to face them again, and she prayed that she was wrong…hoping that it was just her fears getting the best of her.

"Are you alright?" Cas asked from beside her.

She turned to look into his worried blue gaze, and heaved a sigh before answering.

"Yeah." she muttered.

Cas looked at Ember with concern written all over his face. She knew very well that the Reaper could tell she was lying, but to her relief he just nodded and walked ahead of her. She sighed in relief glad that he didn't ask any more questions, and fallowed him down deeper into the twisted tree. Soon they were in a very large clearing, the ceiling was hundreds of feet above the ground and the walls were just as twisted as the outside of the tree. They came to the edge of a cliff, but Tak was nowhere to be seen.

"I'll go tell him you're here." Castiel said before turning into his true form, a midnight black fox like creature with a tail made of flame.

He took off heading into another corridor that branched off to the left. A few minutes later he returned by her side changing into his human form again. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came as a strange looking beast came into the clearing. He was monstrously tall as he stood over the cliff, his brown fur was ruffled and stuck out in several different directions, and his head was like that of deer's skull with huge antlers that branched out like trees. This was Tak, the spirit of death.

"Tak." Ember greeted before dipping her head in respect.

"Greetings young one," Tak replied in a voice so ancient and full of wisdom that it caused Ember to shiver because of it, "it's been a long time since I've last seen you."

"Yeah, it's nice to see you and Cas again." she answered with a small smile.

A few minutes of silence fell between them before Tak finally went on.

"You are probably wondering why I asked you to come." he began, "It seems…that the nomeds have returned."

Ember's heart skipped a beat as her worst fear had been confirmed, "N-no…" she stuttered, "that can't b-be true. I defeated them, and there hasn't been any news of unusual deaths lately. No it can't be true! It can't be!"

"I know this is hard to believe," Tak soothed, "but it is the truth Ember and if we don't do something now more people will fall to these monsters."

Ember's ears drooped knowing all too well that Tak was right, and she needed to stop them as soon as possible. She heaved a sigh before looking at Tak with a somber expression.

"You're right…" she murmured, "where do I need to go?"

"A place known as Death City." Tak replied.

"Death City? Okay then. Where is this place anyway?"

"It is not on Earth, it resides in what's called a Mirror Realm."

"Mirror realm? What's that?"

"A Mirror Realm is a reflected version of Earth. There is only one Mirror Realm, and it is twisted."

"Twisted? How?"

"As in things that people on Earth find as fiction are real in the Mirror Realm. Such as witches and many other things similar to that, and because of this I am sending Castiel with you."

Ember looked at Cas, who gave her a nervous smile, with a deadly gaze before turning back to Tak.

"Did he talk you into this! I'm not taking him with me he is a fricken moron!" she growled.

"No Ember. I am sending him with you for your protection." Tak went on.

"I don't need his protection! I can take care of myself!" she argued.

"I know you are very capable of protecting yourself, but in this Mirror Realm there are no felivines Ember."

"So!"

"Meaning, that the people there may believe you to be witch because of your looks, and may I remind you of your soul? The people there are very different from the people who live here, and they will come after you once they sense your soul. That's why I am sending Castiel with you so he can keep you safe from these people while you battle the nomeds."

Ember grumbled in annoyance, but she could see his point and just nodded.

"Good. I need the both of you leave immediately, but before you go I have a few rules." Tak continued.

"And they are?" she ushered him along wanting to get this show on the road.

"Keep yourself hidden, do not let anyone see you, and whatever happens do not intervene when it comes to someone's fate. If they are dying you let fate decide on what happens to them. You are not to intervene, understood?"

"Yup, crystal clear."

"Good, I shall send you there myself once you are ready. No go get your things and meet me back here."

Ember nods and turns to Cas, "Let's get going I guess."

Castiel nods in agreement and in a flash of light they were gone.

After about an hour Cas and Ember returned back to the twisted tree with everything in hand. It didn't take long for her to pack, but she wanted to say Good-Bye to everyone before taking off for only God knows how long. Even though she was ready to leave a part of her still wanted to stay with her family and friends. She was sick of having to leave every time a nomed got out, and she hated how her life revolved around these monsters. But she knew she had to go, she knew that the people of Death City needed her, and she was determined to slaughter every single one of the shadow dwellers in order to keep them safe.


	3. Chapter 2: A Day out in the City

Chapter 2

A Day out in the City

It was the next morning after being assigned to Death City and Castiel ,who was always up before the sun rose, was ready for the day ahead. He yawned still feeling weary from last night's move; once he and Ember were teleported to their destination it took them half the night finding a place to stay that would not attract unwanted attention. Every place Castiel had suggested either turned them down or the people their looked like they wanted to eat their faces for dinner. By that time Ember was annoyed and ready to kick someone out of their house and stay there herself, but before she had the chance to do so Cas stumbled upon an abandoned tunnel which lead them to a bunker miles underneath the city. Though the walk up to the surface was a long one Cas knew it would keep them hidden and safe from the people above while they stayed here.

Turning from the mirror the Reaper headed to the exit; after leaving Ember a detailed note on what he was doing, why he was doing it, and how long he'd be; deciding that he had a few things to do before letting Ember out to hunt. The first thing he needed to do was to scout out the city, then to get a map to mark out the area for Ember, after that was getting food, and then finally the most important step of all…to contact Nikkita. Cas replayed each step in his mind over and over again making sure not to forget anything.

He soon reached the surface and breathed in the fresh air before heading into the busiest part of the city. He walked through the shops looking around making sure not to miss any specific detail, but suddenly he collided into a young girl with dirty blond hair and big green eyes. She fell to the ground with a look of shock on her face as she stared at Cas.

"Sorry miss I wasn't watching where I was going." he apologized lending a hand to her.

She looked up at him slightly blushing a bit before accepting his hand. Cas smiled and helped her up before apologizing again.

"Once again I'm really sorry I should have been paying attention."

"I-it's okay." she stuttered her cheeks still red, "Say I haven't seen you around here before are you new to Death City?"

"Yes, I am actually. I was just having a look around before I buy…oh shit I have no money!"

Cas groaned before slapping his hand to his for head feeling like an idiot.

The girl laughs before handing him some money, "Here this should cover the stuff you need."

"Thanks, but you don't have to do that. It would feel wrong to take money from a stranger." he stated.

"No it's alright I don't mind, and if you want I can show you around the city."

Cas looked at her before giving her a grateful smile, "Thank you…"

"Maka Albarn." she interrupted.

"Thank you Maka Albarn." he repeated holding out his hand.

She smiles before taking it, "It's nice to meet you sir."

"Castiel, but you can call me Cas."

Maka smiles blushing a bit more, "It's nice to meet you Cas."

"Same to you Maka."

Cas chuckled at seeing how flustered she looked, "Well I gotta go, and thank you for the money I'll try to pay you back as soon as I can."

"Keep it consider it as a welcome gift from me to you." she said happily then asked, "Would you like me to show you around?"

"Thank you Maka this means a lot to me, but I still intend on paying you back. Thank you for the offer as well but sadly I need to decline I've got a lot to do today and I don't want to burden you with my problems." he replied.

The disappointment on her face was too much for Cas to bear so he added:

"Maybe tomorrow you can show me the best places around town."

Her disappointment was soon replaced with excitement.

"Yeah that would be great! So I'll see you here tomorrow then? " she asked?

"Yes." he replied giving her smile.

"Alright I'll see you tomorrow then! Bye!" she stated before taking off with a slight bounce in her step.

Cas laughs a bit before turning the other way heading deeper into the city. As he walked he observed every part of the city and its people making sure not to miss anything along the way. It was a peaceful day today as the people walked with one another talking about their daily lives. Cas passed by them a smile on his face at seeing how happy they all seemed then frowned realizing that they were unaware of the danger that lies all around them.

"I hope Ember and I can stop these monsters before they destroy this city." he muttered silently to himself.

Suddenly a familiar voice caught his ears and he looked around until he spotted the young women he knew so well selling some of her famous herbal remedies to a group of people. Cas was shocked to see her here in all places, and slowly walked over to her waiting for the group to leave.

"Thank you miss." said an older lady.

"Nana why does she have those weird ears and a tail?" a young boy around the age of three asked.

"Brayden Patrick!"

"It's alright," the blonde spoke with a smile on her face before looking at the little boy, "I was born like this love I'm some new kind of super hero."

"Wow, really!"

"Yup, but don't tell anyone its super-secret."

"I won't!"

Castiel couldn't help but smile while trying to hold in a laugh before stepping up to the stand.

"So you're a super hero now, hmm Nikkita?" he taunted.

She turned to Cas her blue eyes widening in shock at seeing him here.

"Castiel! What are you doing here!" she asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." he replied.

"Hold on I'll close up the shop and we can go someplace to talk." she said laughing.

Nikkita closed up and lead Cas down the street into a coffee shop, "So," she asked, "What brings you here to Death City?"

"It's a long story, but I'm here with Ember to take out the shadow dwellers." he replied.

"They're here too huh?"

"Sadly, yes."

Nikkita sighed her ears drooping in despair, "They won't rest until they spoil everything the earth."

Castiel simply nods not sure what to say at the moment, but before he could think of anything she changed the subject.

"You're probably wandering why I'm here."

"Yes actually? Tak said that no one knows about the Mirror Realm."

"I stumbled upon it by accident. Turns out this place has a lot of the herbs I need that rarely grow back home. So I come here every month or so to collect the herbs I need, and sell some of my remedies to the people here."

"I see."

An awkward silence fell between them before the silence was broken by the Reaper.

"Well I've been meaning to contact you, but it seems I don't need to now." Cas stated.

"Contact me? For what?" Nikkita asked giving him an uneasy look.

"As I've said before Ember is here with me and before I let her go above ground to hunt she needs something to hide her second soul. Since you know quite a few things on 'magic' I thought I'd ask you."

"Sure I might be able to do something for her. The witches here have something called Soul Protect to hide the fact that they are witches from the meisters here. It's pretty close to the spell I use to hide rogue souls from the shadow dwellers, but I'm certain it will work on Ember as well. Just give me a bit of time so I can look up a few things."

"Okay, but what for?"

"Well Soul Protect is for witches and the fact that there souls or inside their bodies and not outside like a rogue soul."

"So you can't do it?" he asked in confusion.

"I might be able too, but I don't know yet I've never done this spell on a soul that is inside the body. I just need to do a bit of research to see how Soul Protect works before I can place the spell on Ember. Both seem very similar, but I just want to make sure" Nikkita answered.

"Alright sounds good I guess. I have a few things I need to do before I head back so I'll meet you here around eight?"

"Sounds good Castiel."

They said Good-Bye to one another before parting their separate ways. Cas walked around the city making a mental map inside his head before heading back to the shops. There he bought a map and some groceries he and Ember would need using the money that Maka had given him. He sat down at a nearby table realizing that his running around was complete and all he had to do now was to wait for Nikkita to get back from whatever it was she had to do. In the meantime he pulled out the map and began marking and labeling each area of the city; once that was done he checked his watch, 6:30 it read. Cas got up carrying his groceries with him to the meeting place. Most people are either late or on time; then there is Castiel who is always a few hours early no matter what.

Castiel had been waiting in the coffee shop for about an hour and a half, and when Nikkita walked through the door he instantly jumped up bags in hand read to go.

"You ready?" he asked rather quickly.

"Yeah," she replied eyeing him, "how long have you been here?"

"An hour and a half."

"Cas! You do realize you don't have to be early for everything right?"

"I know, but I hate being late so if I arrive early I'll never be late."

Nikkita just shook her head before answering, "Let's just get going before I punch you in the throat."

He nodded with a dorky grin on his face before leading her to where he and Ember were staying for the time being.


	4. Chapter 3: Monsters in The Dark

Chapter 3

Monsters in the Dark

It was early in the morning as Death the Kid made his way down the halls of the DWMA to the Death Room. Lord Death had requested to see him immediately regarding a serious issue. Kid wasn't sure what it could be, but he knew it couldn't be good from the serious and unnerving tone that was in his Father's voice when he had called. Kid now stood in front of the door reaching a hand out he knocked. It opened, and he went inside walking down the long hall way until he reached the middle of the Death Room where his father stood talking with Stein and Sid.

"Father." Kid greeted in his usual manner.

The Grim Reaper looked up once hearing his son's voice, "Hiya Kiddo! I'm glad to see you son!" he said in a cheerful voice.

Kid groaned at hearing his childish nickname; he disliked how his Father treated him like a child, but he knew deep down that he had his reasons; and like most parents didn't wish for their child to grow up. Kid just heaved a sigh, and decided to get right to the point.

"You wanted to see me." he stated.

"Oh yes! I'll get to that in a moment Kiddo I just need to finish speaking to Professor Stain and Sid." Lord Death answered before turning back to the teachers.

After a few moments the Grim Reaper bid Stain and Sid farewell before turning to Kid, "It's been a while since I last saw you Kid. How have you been?" he asked.

"Dad you saw me yesterday!" Kid stated starting to get a bit annoyed.

"I know, but you have grown so fast." He stated.

Kid just lifted a brow, but didn't want to keep this nonsense going and asked what his father wanted to talk to him about, "You told me you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Oh yes!" Lord Death started, "As I've told you yesterday about the monster attacking Death City, and how I sent some of our top meister's and weapons to deal with them."

Kid nodded listening carefully.

"Sadly they were killed in a rather horrendous way…and their souls were taken. Which leaves me to believe that another kishin may have been reborn or is in the works."

"Are you sure Dad? I mean I haven't sensed any madness wavelength?" Kid questioned.

"Neither have I Kid, but they were some of the best meisters in the DWMA. And how they died definitely shows a high magnitude of insanity. I don't want to take any chances, and let another Ashura incident take place."

"Yeah I see your point. So what do you want me to do?"

"I need you to confirm my suspicions, but whatever you do Kid do not go near it and make sure to stay hidden. You may be a Shinigami, but I don't want you to get hurt."

"Okay sounds simple enough. So when do you want me to leave?"

"Tonight, night seems to be when this thing is most active."

Kid nods turning to leave when Lord Death stops him.

"Stay safe Kiddo, and make sure to bring Liz and Patty with you." he said.

"I will Dad." Kid reassured his anxious Father.

As Kid made his way down the hall he replayed the last part of the conversation he had with his father. He seemed unnerved and anxious about sending Kid out on this mission, but why? Kid was capable of taking care of himself, but the fear in his voice was unsettling. What was his father hiding? Maybe he was just afraid that another kishin could be rising again, but something in the back of his head told him it was something else…something dark. Whatever his father was afraid of he decided to take extra special care for this mission.

As the sun began to fall and the moon began to rise Kid got ready to leave; Liz and Patty had not returned home yet from their shopping day so Kid decided to leave without them. He left them a note before heading out into the city. He walked through the streets past the many people that were going home after a long day of working, but Kid headed deeper into the city where the meisters had been killed. It was a long walk, but finally he reached the sealed off street. Kid just stared past the Do Not Cross yellow tape into the bloody street before him. He took deep breath before pushing the tape aside and walking into the street.

Upon entering the empty street a haunting silence fell before him creeping into his body and chilling his blood. His breathing became shallow as he forced his frozen legs to move despite every fiber of his being telling him to run…to get far away from this place and never look back. But he needed to keep going despite the fear that clawed in his head.

The last time he felt fear like this was when he and his friends were facing the Kishin Ashura, but this fear was different. It wasn't laced with madness…instead it was a fear that seemed to affect all five senses and left behind dread as it festered inside his soul. With each step he took he felt eyes scorching through his skin, and a couple of times he swear he heard footsteps behind him but every time he turned to look there was no one there. Despite the growing fear he kept moving keeping his mind clear so it would not twist his imagination.

Eventually the silence was broken by a strange crunching sound. Cautiously Kid walked towards the sound making sure to stay silent along the way. The sound became louder with each step he took until finally he came to a dark alley way. Kid stopped at the edge of the wall and slowly peered past it, and what he saw made his blood run cold.

There in the alley sat a large, pitch black creature gnawing on a femur bone. It looked like this thing crawled straight out of nightmare, or hell, with long hooked claws and glinting white teeth that shown in the moonlight. It's tongue was incredibly long as it rolled out of its mouth, and coiled around the bone like a snake that was strangling its prey. Its black fur was clumped and covered in blood, but the most unnerving thing about this monster was its eyes. They were pure white and gleamed in the darkness like the headlights of a car. There were no pupils, but Kid knew that this thing was far from blind.

Slowly Kid backed away wanting to get out of here as fast as he could, but to his dismay he backed up into trash can causing it to topple over. Kid instantly whipped around ready to run, but before he could move the creature was already in front of him. It looked at him with its piercing white eyes…it never blinked…not once…all it did was stare. Kid could hear his heart beating in the dead silence not sure what to do or where to run. It seemed as though time had stood still as the monster looked at him when suddenly a twisted grin appeared on its face as it's tongue slid from it's mouth and licked it's entire head. It stood on it's back legs towering over Kid as it whispered strange nothings then suddenly it lifted it's head back and let out a deafening screech.

Kid fell to his knees trying to cover his ears as the scream tore into his ear drums, and when it stopped his whole world was spinning around him as he was flung backwards. He hit the ground with a loud thud! He attempted to get to his feet before the monster could reach him, but the thing was already on top of him pinning him down with a clawed hand.

Never before had he seen anything move so fast, and its precision was spot on despite how hideously asymmetrical this thing was. Kid struggled trying to get free from its grip, but with every move he made he could feel it's grip tighten. He let out a frustrated grunt as he was pushed into the ground. Eventually he quite struggling thinking maybe he could fool this thing into loosening it's grip, but it was smarter than that and ended up slamming him into nearby wall instead.

Kid gasped as the air was knocked out of his body as he hit the wall; then hit the ground with a soft thud. He coughed trying to catch his breath as he slowly got to his feet seeing the thing circling him like a cat circling a mouse. He kept his golden eyes fixed on it as it circled him. It then launched at him, but this time Kid was ready; he dodged it quickly, and gave it a good kick in the head sending it flying several feet away from him. Instead of slamming into the wall the creature instead went through it like a ghost.

"What!" Kid yelled in surprise, "Where the hell did it go!"

His question was soon answered as the beast shot out of the ground behind him and, pushed his face into the ground.

"Get it together Kid," he told himself, "you're Grim Reaper damn it!"

As if reading his mind the monster leaned forward; feeling it's warm rotten breath on his neck it whispered in a hushed icy voice that seemed to echo every word it spoke, "Give up child you'll never win this fight. Reaper or not I will take your soul."

"No!" Kid screeched.

The monster just gave a malicious chuckle before sinking its glinting, white fangs into his neck. Kid let out a scream as the teeth dug deeper scraping against bone, but it was soon cut short by a sickening gurgle as blood soon filled his throat. The monster then let him go and watched as he scrambled away in a feeble attempt to escape, but grinned as fell back down and began choking on his own blood.

The world around him began to spin as it became harder and harder to breath, was this really going to be the end? No! He couldn't give up not like this. Slowly he got to his feet, but fell to his knees as he went into another fit of coughing.

The creature circled him again mocking him as he suffered, "Still wish to fight child? Why not give up, and maybe I will kill you swiftly."

Kid looked into it's gleaming white slits panting heavily as blood dripped from his mouth, "No…I won't surrender…to you…"

The creature grinned as it watched Kid get to his feet ready to fight with whatever strength he had left. The creature chuckled feeling the boy's soul quiver with fear, despite how well he hid it in his eyes and stance.

"Very well child. Have it your way." It hissed then lunged at him with such incredible speed that Kid instantly knew he had no chance of blocking it; especially in his weakened condition.

Time seemed to stand still as the monster's claws ripped through skin and bone like scissors cutting through paper. Blood flew everywhere; splattering the walls of the sounding buildings, and even the ground. Once the damage was done Kid hit the ground like a rock while a pool of blood steadily surrounded his body. His once bright golden eyes began to dim as the life began to drain from his body. Kid looked at the monster as it towered over him with a twisted grin painted on it's face. He wasn't sure what it was going to do to him in his time of dying, but from the look on it's face he knew it wasn't going to let him die in peace.


	5. Chapter 4: Healing Hands

Chapter 4

Healing Hands

The sky had just started to lighten as a hooded figure finished off the last of her hunting; collecting the souls that had exploded from the beast before turning to a small fox like creature with a grin on her face.

"That's the last of them! At least for now anyways." Ember stated letting out an exhausted laugh.

"I think you're right." Castiel agreed turning back into his human form, "Lets head back you look like you might fall asleep standing up."

Ember smiled feeling too tired to speak as she fallowed her long-time friend back to the bunker, but a stressed humming stopped her in her tracks. She turned to Cas who was still walking away, "He must not have heard it." She thought.

"Cas!" Ember called.

The Reaper turned to look at her, "Hmm?"

"Didn't you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" he answered with another question.

"It came down this street. It sounds like…I don't know…like someone is humming a rather stressed out tune or something."

Castiel just lifted a brow having no idea what she was talking about, "Ember it was probably nothing. You're tired your brain is most likely playing tricks on you let's just head back to the bunker, you need to rest."

Ember glared at him, "No! I know I heard someone, and I'm gonna find out what it is!"

Before Castiel could say anything she took off down the street running as fast as her legs could carry her while Cas yelled to her from where he stood. She kept running as the humming grew louder and louder until she began to hear muffled, pain filled screams. She skidded to a halt in front of an alley way just in time to see a shadow dweller digging its claw into the flesh of a boy.

Ember growled and charged at the nomed slamming her body into the monster sending it flying backwards. She stood over him her icy blue gaze nothing but slits as the monster got to its feet and glared at her with an intense hatred in it's lifeless white eyes; then, like lightning, it charged at her. Ember stood her ground waiting for the right moment to strike. As it neared her it halted standing on it's hind legs raising its claws ready to slice, but she was quicker and kicked her feet into it's stomach sending it flying for a second time.

The thing was quick, but because of it's long, slender body it often left many weaker spots open. Without waiting for it to get up she summoned her weapon, a light silver scythe with strange glowing blue letters written on the blade, and charged at it again. The monster got to it's feet hissing at her, but before it could move she swung the scythe; the blade cut into it's head and slammed into the wall. She pulled the blade from it's skull, and before it could regain it's senses she swung again but this time the blade was on fire as it cut through the shadow dweller. The monster stumbled a bit before it burnt into a crisp releasing the souls it had taken.

Ember heaved a sigh of relief, her weapon disappearing in a flash of light, as she placed the stolen souls into the lantern, but a cough brought her back to the boy. She turned to look at him, he was around the same age as she was and was suffering a great deal from his injuries. She walked up to him and knelt down beside him; upon getting a closer look at his wounds her heart skipped a beat at how deep they were. Her body became weak with sorrow as she watched him struggle to breath.

He was so young and had so much to live for. What about his parents? What would they do when their son never returned home, but was instead found here lying dead in a pool of his own blood. What would she do if she never tried to help him?

All these thoughts ran through Ember's head as she watched him slipping in and out of consciousness. She knew Tak had told her to never interfere with what was meant to be, but at the same time she was still human and deep down she knew she needed to help him. Ember closed her eyes thinking about what she should do; she could get help, but that would be too risky; she could try to stitch him up herself, but she didn't have any of her supplies and he needed medical attention now; the only option left was using her healing abilities to heal him with the small cost of getting sick.

The previous options were so much better than the third since she knew very well Tak was talking about her healing abilities that day. But if this was truly meant to be the boy's fate should she really interfere with that? No! She won't let death be his fate! She could bring him with her, but with such serious injuries she dared not move him. If she was fast enough she could get the medical kit and bring it back here. Yes that's what she would do!

But before she could move he began coughing harder as more blood spilled from his mouth, and his shallow breathing became a sickening gurgling sound. Ember watched in horror as he choked on his own blood, she knew time had run out and the third option was all she had left. Panic began to pick at her soul as death loomed over him. She needed to make a decision now, and she chose to heal him!

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but I can't let him die…not like this."

Ember placed a hand on his cheek and gave him a small reassuring smile, "You're gonna be okay. I promise." Slowly she began to remove his jacket and shirt trying her best not to hurt him any further than he already was. She flinched at seeing the severity of his wound, but she just shook her head telling herself it would heal. Placing her hand over the wound she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as a sudden warmth filled the middle of her chest and crawled through her entire body. The warmth was then replaced with a sharp burning pain as she felt claws rip through her chest followed by more pain. She clenched her teeth as the pain became more and more intense. She then felt the energy return the middle of her chest signaling the healing was done.

Ember turned away from the boy as she began coughing rather viciously as her body tried to push out the stuff that had festered inside of her. She kept coughing until finally she gagged and threw up a sticky black ooze. Ember panted heavily feeling weak, but forced herself to crawl over to the boy.

He lay sleeping as his veins glowed blue in the darkness still healing the inside damage, and on his chest a glowing handprint shown where the worst of his injuries where. It would stay like that for a while depending on how bad the damage was. From the wounds he had sustained Ember guessed he'd be a human glow stick for two to three days possibly even four if you want to count the amount of blood he lost.

She smiled weakly as he slept soundly; he'd be like this for a good deal of the following day. She was happy that he'd be able to live his life, but she knew she'd be in trouble with Castiel and Tak. There was no need to worry about that now though; she'd take full responsibility for her actions, and she'd feel much better knowing that he was alive and well rather than in pain and suffering. Ember's vision became foggy, but she forced herself to stay awake. She didn't want to leave him here alone, but she knew she couldn't stay here long at risk of being exposed. So instead she hauled him over her shoulders and headed out of the street. To her surprise he wasn't that heavy, but in her weakened state she wasn't sure how far she could carry him to the busiest part of the city.

The sun was just barely peeking over the building when Ember finally reached the empty market place. She looked around making sure no one was out and about; even though the market wouldn't be full for a couple more hours she knew all too well that the old farts would be out setting up shop despite the early hours. Once she felt that the cost was clear she set him down next to the closest shop she could find. Making sure he was safe in this spot she took off her cloak and placed it over his body in an effort to keep him warm.

Ember sighed seeing how much of a mess he was, his hair was caked in blood hiding its true color while his pale skin was a ghostly white from the massive amount of blood he had lost. She pulled out a tissue and began cleaning hid face so if someone did find him they wouldn't think he was dead.

He looked somewhat better, even though his hair was still a complete mess, or at least more recognizable any way. She smiled and placed her nose to his forehead, a formal way of wishing good luck to someone, before getting to her feet and stumbling out of the market place back to the bunker.


	6. Chapter 5: Aftermath

Chapter 5

Aftermath

**Ember's POV**

It was early morning when Ember had finally reached the bunker she knew Cas was going to be pissed at her for running off. But right now she could care less as she dragged her tired feet along the floor. Once entering the bunker she was immediately confronted by a furious Castiel.

"Ember!" he bellowed his blue eyes nothing but slits, "Why did you run off like that! You could have gotten yourself…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah could have gotten myself spotted or killed blah, blah, blah." she said finishing the sentence for him.

This must have made him angrier than he already was because he pushed his face into hers, and his tone softened to a very stern whisper.

"Ember this is not a game," he stated, "so quite being a smart ass and put your head on straight."

Ember just looked at him not sure what to say, and when something finally did come to mind the exhaustion had finally caught up to her and the last thing she remembered was the world spinning around her as she fell forward.

**Castiel's POV**

Cas caught Ember before she hit the floor he picked her up and quickly rushed her to the couch.

"Nikkita!" he called.

Nikkita popped her head from the kitchen, and rushed over to him as he set an unconscious Ember on the sofa.

"What happened?" she asked her voice filled with worry.

"I'm not sure. She just…collapsed." Cas replied in the same worried tone.

Nikkita pushed him out of the way, and began examining her thoroughly. Cas got to his feet taking a step back so she could do her examination. He watched with a worried look on his face as all kinds of thoughts ran through his head. However they were soon interrupted as she got to her feet and from the look in her eyes Cas already knew what the problem was.

"She stopped death didn't she?" he asked in an icy tone.

Nikkita swallowed nervously before answering, "I'm afraid so Castiel."

**Nikkita's POV**

Nikkita watched as he turned away from her muttering something under his breath. Never before had she seen Cas this angry he stood rigid with every muscle in his body tensed, and in all honesty it scared her.

"Cas I'm sure Ember had her reasons for breaking the rules." Nikkita spoke trying to get him to see reason.

"Reasons!" he snapped turning to face her, "What reasons could she possibly have for reversing fate! If that person was meant to die then that was their fate! Ember should not have intervened!"

"Castiel! That's enough! I know what Ember did may not have been the best thing but you need to realize she is only sixteen and the fact she is still a human being."

Nikkita watched as the reaper began to relax after realizing that she was right. A heavy sigh came from him before he spoke, "You're right Nikkita…I'm sorry. It's just that Ember needs to realize that she can't intervene with fate. If they were meant to die then that is what was meant to be, and it should not be changed regardless of what she can do."

"She knows Castiel," Nikkita informed, "but she is still young and you can't expect her to know how the whole world works with a snap of your fingers. If she sees someone dying and knows she can help then that is what her heart is going to tell her."

"You're right," he whispered, "I have been too hard on her, and it is mostly my fault for leaving her outside alone."

He rubs his forehead sitting down in a nearby chair, and stares at the floor. Nikkita sits on the arm of the chair and rubs his back trying to reassure him.

"Maybe so, but who knows maybe this was meant to be the person's fate. After all fate does work in strange ways much like life and death." She soothed.

"Yeah maybe, but I still need to talk to Tak and figure out what to do about this."

She nods in agreement as he gets to his feet and looks at her, "I'll be back soon." he said.

"Don't worry Castiel I'll look after her while you're gone." she replied, answering his unspoken question.

He nods giving a small smile before disappearing without a trace.

**Stein's POV**

It was early in the morning as Professor Stein made his way into the Dispensary. He wanted to do a run through of the medicine to see what they had and what they were low on before the classes started for the day. He pulled out a box setting it on the desk then grabbed a clip board and pencil; he just sat in his chair when the cries of Liz and Patty echoed down the hall. Stein stood up and headed into the hallway to see what all the fuss was about, but upon seeing the pale and bloody body of an unconscious Death the Kid was a surprise to say the least.

"What the hell happened?" he asked in a calm manor not wanting to startle the frightened sisters any more than they already were.

"We were heading to the DWMA…thinking that Kid had already left, but we once reached the Market Place…we found him like this." Liz answered stuttering over her words.

Stein took the unconscious Reaper from the Thompson sisters placing him on one of the empty beds. His lime green eyes scanned Kid thoroughly as he began twisting the large screw in his head. After a few seconds there was a sudden click, and he turned back to the Thompson sisters.

"His wavelength is faint, but it's still intact." He informed, "I need you to notify Lord Death about this now."

Liz nodded and ran out of the Dispensary fallowed by Patty while Stein set to work on Kid.

An hour had passed and all Stain needed to do was wipe the layers of dried blood that was caked on Kid's skin. To the Professor's surprise there was no sign of an injury, not even a scratch, and judging by the amount of blood there should have been one hell of a gash. But there was nothing, making him wonder if it was someone else's blood. Stein took a sample from Kid's shredded shirt and began running tests to see if it matched Kid's blood type. After doing several tests and having each result come out the same he concluded it was definitely Kid's blood. He sat in his chair feeling confused and not fully understanding what was going on. He knew Kid could heal faster than most humans, but with such an amount of blood loss the wound had of been pretty severe…and would in no way heal that fast regardless.

Stein watched as the Reaper boy slept soundly before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He wasn't sure what to do next other than to let him rest and see what Kid has say when he wakes up. He sat back in his chair taking a drag of his cigarette when something caught his eye. He stood up and walked over to Kid taking a closer look at him. There, on his chest, was a faint outline of what looked like a handprint. He furrowed his brow in curiosity before flicking the lights off; the faint outline was now glowing a bright blue in the shape of a hand print, but on top of that his veins pulsed with the same blue light.

"What the hell happened to you?" Stein asked in confusion.

His demeanor changed as a twisted grin formed on his face, "I guess we'll just have to find out then wont we." he spoke smoothly before pulling out his scalpel and closing the curtains.

**Kid's POV**

The pain was intense and numbing as his torn flesh throbbed profusely, he could barely move as he lost more and more blood. Suddenly he stopped breathing as the blood began to cut off his airway he tried to scream for help but no sound came out; only a sickening gurgle as the metallic taste of his own blood filled his throat. He was going to die, that was for certain, and there was nothing he could do about it. Suddenly, over the chaos and terror, a soft voice spoke.

"You're gonna be okay. I promise."

The pain was suddenly lifted and the pressure in his throat began to disappear as he was able to breathe again. A comforting warmth replaced the pain and the fear lulling him into a sweet darkness as the words the voice spoke replayed in the back of his head.

Slowly, Kid opened his eyes and began to look around him determining he was in the DWMA's Dispensary. Slowly he sat up rubbing the sleep from his eyes and looked out the window to see the laughing sun just beginning to rise. He took a deep breath before getting out of bed and stretching his sore limps. He felt sticky and the stench blood was overwhelming…he needed to shower and wash the blood out of his hair. Kid looked to the clock, 6:09 it read, he'd have plenty of time to shower before classes would start. Walking out of the Dispensary he headed to the Men's shower room keeping his eyes glued to the floor as the bloody battle replayed in his head followed by the voice of his savior. He reached the shower room grabbing a towel and started up the water. He removed his blood stained pants and boxers tossing them to the side before stepping into the warm water letting it wash away the blood and the dirt.

His mind was filled with thoughts wondering what that monster was, and who his savior was. By the sound of the voice he was certain it belonged to a young woman. It wasn't one he recognized so she must be new to Death City, but how to find her was going to be difficult since he only had her voice as a lead. He sighed as he washed the last of the soup down the drain and turned the water off. He dried the excess water out of his raven black hair before putting his pants back on and heading to the Dispensary.

Kid was tired, and wanted nothing more than to sleep for another day but that option was put on hold when he came face to face with his reflection. On the right side of his chest a glowing blue handprint lit the darkness in the Dispensary. He looked at his reflection his eye twitching in disgust at how even more asymmetrical he looked than before. Within a few heart beats he fell to the floor pounding it with his fist.

"Why must I be cursed asymmetrical garbage!" he groaned in despair.

The sound of the door opening was unheard by Kid as Professor Stein walked in carrying with him a fresh change of clothes.

"Kid? What are you doing!" he demanded.

"I'm garbage…I should die." Kid replied.

Stein shook head before placing a hand on his shoulder, "That's enough Kid. Come on pull yourself together I don't have time for this shit."

Kid didn't answer but instead just lay on the floor causing Stein to grin, "Alright then if you wish to stay here then I'll just have to dissect you. Hmm, let's see I think seven cuts just along the left side should do just nicely."

At this statement Kid instantly got to his feet and looked Stein in the eye, "You keep that disgusting number away from me damn it! Eight is better!"

Stein held up his hands in defeat "Alright then you either leave or seven it is."

Kid glared at Stein looking ready to strangle him, but he just simply nodded.

"Good, here I brought you a change of clothes, and your father is gonna want to see you."

"Thank you." he said before taking the clothes and getting changed.

Kid began walking home his father had given him the day off from school in order to let him rest some more. Though he argued that he was fine and should stay, but in all honesty he was relieved to be sent home. He still felt sore and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but one thing kept him from doing that. His savior, he needed to find her, he needed to know what those monsters were, and most of all to say thank you. But before he goes chasing after some invisible woman he needed to come up with a plan first.

**Ember's POV**

The sun had just began to set as Ember got herself ready for the night's hunt she still felt sore after the healing process, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from doing her job. She needed to stop these monsters before they could hurt someone else…she just had to stop them. A knock was heard at her door as Ember slipped on her boots.

"What?" she asked not in the mood to talk to anyone.

"It's me Cas. Can I come in?" Castiel's voice spoke from behind the door.

"If you're going to yell at me because of what happened then no."

"I don't want to lecture you Ember I just want to talk."

Ember rolled her eyes, but got up and opened the door, "So what do you want to talk about?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.

"I just want to say I'm sorry." Castiel said ignoring her sarcasm, "What happened that night was my fault I shouldn't have left you out there alone."

Ember just looked at him feeling shocked that he was actually apologizing she opened her mouth to speak but she wasn't sure what to say. Before she could think of anything he went on, "I put a lot of pressure on you forgetting that you are only sixteen, and for that I'm also sorry."

Ember just shook her head with a smile on her face, "Its fine, we all make mistakes after all."

Cas returns her smile and nods in agreement.

"So what happens now? Do you need to take his soul and bring it home?"

"No actually, after explaining everything to Tak he decided to let the boy be." A huge smile spread across her face and she hugged him tightly.

"Thank you Castiel!"

"You're welcome Ember." he returned the hug before going on, "However when the boy's time comes to leave you're the one that has to bring him home."

Ember nods still smiling after letting him go, "So you ready to get going?"

"Yes, how about you?"

"Hell yes! Let's get this show on the road!"

Ember ran through the city streets taking out any nomeds she met along the way; with Castiel close behind her hiding in the shadows. It felt good to be outside with the wind blowing through her hair after being stuck underground for a day. Ember took a moment to rest and take in her surroundings; she spotted a latter and headed up to the roof. She hadn't had the chance to get a good enough look at the city as she was too busy fighting monsters, and decided to take a moment to see it from a bird's eye view.

Once reaching the top she smiled at seeing how beautiful it was…as if stars had fallen to Earth and settled here for the night. She took a deep breath taking in the scene in front of her before heading back out to hunt again when a familiar form caught her eye.

It was the boy she had saved from the other night he was looking around him as if searching for someone. Ember smiled upon seeing him, and sat at the edge of the roof wanting to watch him a bit longer. He was tall and thin and his stance had a certain confidence in it that she had come to admire in the small time she had seen. He wore an average black suit with a cartoonish looking skull that took the place of a tie, she laughed uttering idjit under her breath, and his hair color was a raven black with three white stripes on the left side of his head.

Ember had to admit he certainly was handsome and couldn't help but smile as she watched him. She leaped into a tree wanting to get a closer look at him, and ever so lightly leaned forward gripping tightly onto the branch. Suddenly the wood began to creak, but before she knew what was going on the branch gave way and she plummeted to the pavement below.


	7. Chapter 6: Meeting Ember

Chapter 6

Meeting Ember

Kid was walking through the street keeping his senses open for any sign of the girl, but the city seemed quite for the most part. He heaved a sigh ready to head home for the night when a sudden crash sounded from his left. He whipped around ready for an attack, but to his relief there was no one there. The young Shinigami looked around him his heart beating rapidly as fear began to take hold. His muscles tensed as the leaves of the broken branch stirred, and out crawled a strange looking girl.

Her golden-brown fur stood out in different directions, and her tail was fluffed up to twice its normal size while leaves and twigs clung to her shiny red hair. She held her head as she shakily got to her feet cussing under her breath.

Kid eyed her not sure what to do as he had never seen anything like her, and after his recent attack he wasn't too willing to get close to her either.

"Who are you!" he addressed her firmly.

She looked in his direction, but he couldn't tell if she was looking at him or not as her light blue eyes shifted from left to right.

"Did you hear me!" Kid demanded.

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything she fell to the ground unconscious. The reaper held his stance for a few more seconds before letting his muscles relax seeing that there was no danger here, but he wasn't going to let his guard down just yet. Cautiously he made his way to the girl lying on the ground and knelt beside her. Reaching out his hand he stroked a few strands of hair from her face revealing a large bump on her forehead.

"She must have hit her head on the way down." Kid thought.

Sighing, he lifted her from the ground knowing that he couldn't just leave her there and turned his direction towards home.

Kid pushed himself through the doors rushing towards the living room, but skidded to a halt after hearing the concerned voices of his friends talking among themselves.

"Shit!" he thought, "I can't let them see her or things will get hectic. I need to get her to my room."

Slowly he crept past the living room quite as a mouse then shot up the stairs like a silverfish upon seeing a predator. The reaper kept running until he entered his room locking the door behind him. Panting, Kid walked over to the bed and gently placed her down on the soft, warm sheets and began examining the bump on her head closely.

The welt was about the size of a silver dollar, though that was to be expected when falling out of a tree, and from the looks of it he was certain that she probably had a concussion which worried him greatly. This kind of thing was something that he needed Stein for, but considering the circumstances he knew that wouldn't be a good idea so he had no other option but to care for her himself. First, he needed to get everyone out of the house before he could do anything and headed back down stairs.

Kid walked into the living room still not sure what to tell his friends as questions swirled in his mind blocking his thinking, when Liz's voice broke his thoughts.

"Where the hell have you been Kid!" she demanded her face filled with relief and worry.

The young Shinigami stayed silent trying to think of something to say, anything, but no words would come to his scattered mind. So he simply gave them a small smile and shrugged his shoulders making the air even tenser than it already was.

"Where were you?" Liz asked for a second time.

"Yeah, we thought you got hurt again!" Patty exclaimed with tears in her eyes.

Kid heaved a sigh knowing that he did owe his friends an explanation so he decided to go with the truth, but not the whole truth, "I…went out to look for whoever saved me on the night I was attacked." he began.

"Wait someone saved you?" Soul interrupted his eyes widening in shock.

"Yes." Kid answered.

"Wow…goes to show you that no one is truly invincible." The white haired teen stated.

"Except me!" Black Star bellowed, "No one can surpass the great Black…"

His sentence was cut short thanks to Maka and her deadly book.

"Uh…anyway," Kid continued, "I remembered her voice very clearly despite not actually seeing her…so I decided to try and locate her with her voice, but…"

"Wait, you were saved by a girl?" Black Star spoke getting up from the floor, "Wow you really are weak!"

He began laughing uncontrollably earning him another book to the scull from Maka this time leaving a dent in his head.

"As I was saying I went out to look for her, but sadly I found no trace of her." he finished.

"Well trying to locate someone with nothing but their voice is nearly impossible so it's not a surprise that you didn't find her." Maka stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah…I suppose you're right."

"Well, now that Kid's here lets go shoot some hoops I got an awesome punishment for the loosing team." Black Star stated with an eager grin on his face.

"Sounds cool to me." Soul agreed fallowed by the others except Kid as his mind traveled back to the girl in his room.

"How about you Kid?" Maka's voice broke through the reaper's thoughts startling him a bit.

"Uh…no thanks I'm kind of tired." he lied.

The dirty blond miester gave Kid a look, but to his relief she didn't press any further and fallowed the others out of the house. Kid let out a sigh before gathering the supplies he needed then heading back upstairs.

A couple of hours had passed now and the young woman still lay sleeping in his bed. Kid sat in silence, watching her sleeping form, with only the sound of her soft breathing to keep him company. He hadn't dared to leave her as he feared the bump on her head may have been more serious then he originally thought. He wasn't sure what to do as he had no medical training, only knowing a few things which were more common sense related than anything. He could call Stein, but he really didn't want to as he knew the crazy professor would end up dissecting her if left alone for a second.

Kid closed his eyes placing his face in his hands contemplating on what to do when the sound of movement made him look up. Slowly the golden furred female sat up rubbing the bump on her head.

"Uh…damn what hit me?" she asked in a dazed mixture of shock and confusion.

Kid sat up instantly recognizing her soft voice, his heart skipping a beat in surprise. Several questions danced through his head to the point where he wasn't sure if it really was her so in order to find out he needed to act normal.

"I believe it was a tree branch." Kid stated.

She whipped around to face him and for few seconds they stared into each other's eyes, but before he could say anything she pulled the quilt over her head and began muttering "No, no, no" under her breath.

Kid cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yeah, I'm sure you won't." she said.

"Then are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" she snapped, "As much as I'd love to stay and chat I really need to get going."

The quilt began to rise as she stood up and walked off the bed making Kid get up and run in front of her to stop her from tripping or bumping into something.

"You really should take it easy you hit your head pretty hard." the young reaper stated as he guided her path.

"No, I need to get back!" she growled.

Kid's back eventually met the wall and she smacked into his chest she attempted to head the other way, but he held out his arm blocking her path.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you go in your condition."

He tried to lead her back to the bed but she put up a fight trying to kick and punch him in an attempt to get away. Kid held on to her as she fought him from under the quilt, but she eventually fell into his chest breathing heavily. He pulled the quilt from over her head revealing her exhausted face as she panted heavily trying to catch her breath.

"So, can I put you back to bed now?" the Shinigami asked.

She simply nodded a yes in reply, and Kid lead her back to the bed getting her settled before taking a seat in the chair next to it. He watched as she curled in to a ball wrapping her thick furry tail around herself. Despite looking so tired she kept her icy blue eyes in him watching his every move Kid could see she was nervous as his golden gaze locked with hers.

"My name is Death the Kid or Kid for short." he introduced.

"Ember." she said simply.

"It's nice to meet you Ember."

"Same."

There was no doubt in his mind that she was his savior as her voice matches it exactly, but her appearance threw him through a loop. He wasn't sure whether he could trust her fully as the possibility of her being a witch was very real. Most witches seemed to have animal traits of some kind, but he had never met one that was a full on humanoid animal like her. Maybe he was being too judgmental, after all she did save his life where most witches would have either left him for dead or killed him themselves.

"What's wrong with you?" Ember questioned breaking though his thoughts.

"N-nothing…" he stuttered.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, to be honest I have a lot of questions."

"About?"

The young Shinigami took a deep breath trying to find the right words to use without offending her in any way, "For starters I know you were the one that healed me."

Silence fell between them as Ember's calm expression turned to worry, "No you must have the wrong person!" she stated nervously her eyes not meeting his.

"Oh come on if you're going to lie at least do it properly!" Kid growled in annoyance.

He watched her light blue eyes shift from left to right continuously as if contemplating on what to say. He could feel her soul shiver from the pressure then a sudden calm wavelength swept through him as she finally met his gaze.

"You're right," Ember whispered, "it was me…but how did you know?"

"Your voice, though I was practically unconscious your voice still stuck with me." he explained.

"Yeah, makes sense…I guess."

Kid opened his mouth ready to ask another question, but shut it again as a pained look on Ember's face signaled that another headache was taking hold. "Later," he thought to himself, "she really needs to rest now."

"Would you like some tea? It might help a little." the young reaper offered.

"Sure," she accepted then added, "can you put a lot of honey in it?"

"Uh…sure." Kid replied furrowing his brow a little.

"I like honey in my tea it sooths my nerves." she said answering his unspoken question.

He nodded wondering how she was able to read him so easily before getting to his feet, leaving the bedroom, and heading downstairs to the kitchen. Looking through the cupboards he found his father's old tea kettle. Pulling it out, he filled it with water and placed it on the stove before turning the burner on to heat up the water. Kid wasn't much of a tea drinker himself, but he knew his father would often drink it when he was under some kind of stress. Once the kettle began to whistle, signaling the water had come to a boil, he grabbed the necessary supplies he would need in order to make the tea. But before he could dip the tea bag into the cup the kitchen mirror sprang to life as his father appeared replacing its reflection.

"Father?" Kid asked feeling stumped.

"Hello son!" he greeted in a cheerful manner, "How are you?"

"I'm fine Dad." the young reaper answered as he began preparing the tea.

"I didn't realize you were a tea drinker now. Maybe you can stop by today and the two of us can have a father, son day."

"U-uhhh…n-no thanks Father…maybe some other time," Kid stuttered before changing the subject, "Did you want something?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright," the older Shinigami replied, "I received a call from Maka saying you were acting out of the ordinary. Kid, if you need to talk I am here for you I hope you know that."

"Yes I know, but I assure you everything is fine. I'm just a little tired from the…attack…I guess."

The word sent a shudder down Kid's spine as the memory of that night came rushing back to him; fear, pain, and blood…so much blood. He could still feel the creature's sickly breath on his skin and it's claws ripping through him like barbed wire. He began to shake as his mind replayed the memories over and over again until Ember's soft voice echoed all around him.

"You're gonna be okay. I promise."

Her soft tone eventually turned into a deeper much more frightened one, the voice of his father, calling his name. Kid opened his eyes to see he was on the kitchen floor curled into a ball hiding his face from an invisible enemy while his father called to him continuously.

"Kid!" Lord Death's voice rang out, "Spirit I need you to stay here I have to get home!"

Kid sat up rubbing his head, "No Dad…I'm alright." the young reaper reassured shakily getting to his feet.

"Are you sure son, I can get there in a matter of seconds?" Lord Death asked his voice laced with worry.

"Y-yeah, I just need to rest."

"Alright, but I will be sending Stein over to check on you."

"Father really that isn't ness…"

"Don't try to argue with me on this cause you're not gonna win Kid. You're my son I need to make sure you're alright."

Kid let out a sigh seeing that his father had a point though he really didn't want Stein here especially when Ember, an entirely unknown species, was upstairs in his bed.

"Can't you send Spirit or Sid?" he asked.

"No," Lord Death replied sternly, "I want Stein to examine you…"

"Ooh this will be fun." the mad scientist's voice sounded somewhere behind Kid's father.

"Not that kind of examination!" he growled before turning back to Kid his voice softening, "I just want to make sure you're okay Kid."

Kid simply nodded to show that he understood.

"I love you son," the old Shinigami said softly, "I'll see you later."

"I'll stop by tomorrow." Kid promised.

"Bye Bye!"

"Good-bye Father."

After bidding farewell the call ended and the mirror returned back to normal. Kid continued on with getting the tea ready, making sure to grab the honey, and headed back upstairs to his room. Opening the door he could see she must have fallen asleep as the blankets were pulled up to her head with only her ears poking out. As he stepped forward an ear swiveled in his direction and she sat up her tired blue eyes watching him.

"You're awake?" Kid asked a little surprised.

"I guess I'm too tired to sleep…if that makes any sense." Ember groaned.

"I wasn't sure how much honey you put in your tea so I just brought the bottle." he informed before placing the tray on the night stand next to the bed.

"Thanks." she replied before taking the tea cup into her hand and mixing the honey in with the tea it held.

Kid sat down in a chair next to the bed watching her every move carefully. Though she was still kind of shaky she moved gracefully as she brought the cup to her lips taking a small sip of the tea inside. She must have noticed him staring because she casted a glare in his direction.

"Why don't you take a picture it'll last longer!" Ember spat in annoyance.

"Sorry, it's just I have a lot of questions to ask you." Kid apologized.

"Well ask them instead of staring at me like you're trying to burn a hole through my head it's kind of freaking me out." the young women retorted taking another sip of her tea.

"Alright, well my first question is what are you?" he asked then quickly added, "I don't mean to sound rude it's just I have never met anyone like you."

"It's alright I'm not offended," she reassured, "I am something that is known as a felivine to explain it better it's pretty much like a humanized cat, fox, and a wolf all mixed into one."

"Interesting…are there others?" he questioned.

"N-no." she replied not looking him in the eye, "It's kind of complicated."

"I understand." the young reaper stated then went on, "Anyway what I really want to know is how you were able to heal me so quickly?"

Ember instantly froze her eyes widening in panic Kid could see she was trying to think of something to say which only made him even more suspicious of her. He stayed silent though waiting to see what she had to stay.

"It's not something I can explain that easily." she began still not meeting his gaze.

"Try." he pressed.

"I-I can't." she stuttered.

"Why not?"

"It's…uh…not easy to explain and not something I can really tell you." she started, "Just call it luck that I was there and able to help you in time."

Kid frowned not satisfied with the answer she had given, but decided to let it go and move on, "I have one more question, if that's alright with you?"

"Sure," she answered taking a sip of tea, "ask away."

The young reaper leaned forward his expression becoming much more serious than before, "The thing that had attacked me, what was it?"

She paused for a moment then looked at him with a mixture of fear and hate dancing in her eyes. Her body seemed more rigid then it did before while her ears flattened to her skull, setting the cup back down on the tray, then slammed her fist on the night stand so hard that Kid could hear the wood crack from underneath her fist.

Kid's eyes widened in surprise as he sat back in the chair, "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Y-yeah." Ember stuttered as she began to examine her bloody knuckles.

The young Shinigami gently took her hand into his inspecting the bruised and bloody flesh around her knuckles. Nothing looked broken, but they were definitely still bleeding. Snatching a couple of tissues from the nightstand he began to clean the blood off of her small hand putting pressure on the wounds to stop the bleeding. The golden-brown felivine stayed silent for some time either thinking of what to say or refusing to answer, Kid couldn't really tell. Once the wounds stopped bleeding Kid lifted his golden gaze to meet hers. She looked away staying silent for several minutes before heaving a sigh and turning her gaze back to his.

"The monster that attacked you…was a Nomed or a Shadow Dweller as they are most commonly called." she paused for a few moments before continuing, "As the name suggests they dwell in the shadows looking for any potential victims that walk in their path."

Ember paused again, but went on, "They feast on the souls of the living and the dead…"

Kid furred his brow, "They sound like a type of kishin." He interrupted.

"What is a kishin?" Ember asked lifting a brow.

"A kishin is the result of someone collecting human souls to gain power in one way or another," he explained, "and as a result they become insane and very violent losing all of their humanity."

"Oh, well a shadow dweller doesn't eat souls to gain power…they do it because it's their food source and an addiction in a sense." the golden-brown felivine began, "They were never human to begin with…they don't even have souls."

Kid's eyes widened in shock he had never heard of anything like this before if these monsters did not have souls then how were they alive, and what was their purpose? His mind was whirling as more questions developed than actual answers that it left him speechless.

Ember must have sensed this and stated, "I know it comes as quite a shock it did for me too, but these things are technically not alive. They are shadows, they can control and travel through them, it's one reason why they are so active at night."

"If they aren't seeking power then why do they take souls?" Kid asked.

"Like I've said before it's their food source and an addiction." Kid opened his mouth to ask, but before he could Ember went on, "Though they can live without the souls they get extremely weak from hunger, similar to us, but it's an addiction as well since the emotions a soul emits is what makes them want more."

"Makes sense." he agreed though his mind still burned with questions.

"If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask." she said in a stiff tone.

Kid simply shook his head seeing that she didn't want to talk about it anymore, and he felt he had enough information to report this to his father. He stood up heading for the door when Ember's voice spoke.

"Kid," she called, "I need you to promise me something."

The young Shinigami turned to face her seeing a serious look written on her face, "What it is?" he asked.

"I know this is going to rub you the wrong way, but you cannot tell anyone what I just told you." she stated her expression harder than stone.

"Why not!" he demanded.

Ember's eyes burned brightly like ice in the moonlight sending a shiver down his spine as they bore through him and when she spoke there was fire in her voice, "Because you will only do more harm than good. If your people go hunting they will not come back, trust me on this, they are not experienced enough to take on these beings. Even the most experienced fighters have lost their lives fighting them, so please for the sake of all the lives that live here stay out of it and let me handle this."

"They still deserve to know!" Kid defended.

"No!" Ember growled, "Trust me it's better if they don't know."

"And why is that!" he hissed.

"Because if the people leave this city the nomeds will follow them which leads to even more trouble and a lot more bloodshed!"

Kid glared at her standing his ground.

"I know this is hard," she continued in a much softer tone, "but it's for the best, trust me, they will be much safer if they don't know."

The young Shinigami still glared at her, but his gaze eventually began to soften seeing the pleading look in her eyes. He wasn't sure why but he felt he could trust her that deep down she wanted the same things he did, to keep the people safe and out of harm's way.

"Alright," he whispered, "I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you." she purred giving him a grateful smile.

Kid simply nods before turning away and exiting the room. Closing the door behind him he breathed out a heavy sigh thinking to himself as he walked down the hall, "Damn she is strange."


End file.
